Laura Ballard-Todd

Laura Ballard-Todd has a diverse work experience spanning various organizations and roles. Laura started their career as a Youth and Community Educator at Peace Corps from June 2008 to July 2011. Laura then joined Michigan State University as a Graduate Assistant from August 2011 to May 2016. During this time, they also interned at the Center for Applied Linguistics as a WIDA Rater Training Intern from May 2015 to August 2015. In 2016, Laura worked as a Test Development Intern at Michigan Language Assessment from May 2016 to August 2016. Laura then joined Peace Corps again as a Campus Recruiter from March 2016 to March 2017. After that, Laura worked as a Project Manager at the Center for Applied Linguistics from 2017 to October 2018. Currently, they are working at ETS as a Senior Research Project Manager, starting from October 2018. Laura'smost recent position at ETS is the Lead Research Project Manager since May 2022.

Laura Ballard-Todd earned a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and International Studies from the University of Michigan-Flint in 2006. Laura then pursued a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at Michigan State University from 2011 to 2013. Later, they completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Second Language Studies at Michigan State University from 2013 to 2017. Additionally, Laura holds certifications in Outdoor Emergency Care from the National Ski Patrol and TEFL from Trinity College London.